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Inside Washington (08/27/2008)

* WASHINGTON (8/28/08)--Minutes of the July 24 Federal Open Market Committee meeting with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have been released. The committee and board met to consider proposals to extend or enhance Federal Reserve System liquidity facilities. The proposals passed. Participants expressed general support for them, but there was sentiment for altering the Term Auction Facility proposal to allow both 28- and 48-day credits. The committee extended until Jan. 30, 2009, its authorizations for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to transact with primary dealers through the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF). Charles Plosser, president of the Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, dissented, saying that he viewed the net benefit of the TSLF options as insufficient to justify adding them to the support already provided to market liquidity ... * WASHINGTON (8/28/08)--The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) will host eight identical phone seminars for bankers between Sept. 17 and Nov. 4 on rules for deposit insurance coverage. Each seminar will run two to three hours ... * WASHINGTON (8/28/08)--The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) released home equity line of credit account management guidance. OTS expects thrifts to actively manage their home equity portfolios by maintaining effective risk management systems and complying with OTS real estate lending standards ... * WASHINGTON (8/28/08)--The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Tuesday issued guidance on brokered deposits. The agency suggested that banks perform pro forma cash flow analyses, create contingency plans for events and follow other guidance the FDIC has released on restrictions regarding brokered deposits (American Banker Aug. 27). A strong reliance on brokered deposits has been tied to several bank failures this year, including Columbian Bank and Trust Co., IndyMac Bank and ANB Financial ...